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Brigham Young Cougars’ identity is being challenged, again

The Brigham Young Cougars (3-2) took exception to Washington State head coach Mike Leach saying, “We’re going to look like BYU more than BYU will.” The result was BYU limiting Washington State to 224 yards of total offense. The BYU offense scored 24 points in the first half and had 426 yards of total offense for the game.

For a second time this season, BYU’s identity is being challenged. The local Utah media has been singing the praises of Utah State (4-1) and its quarterback Chuckie Keeton. They have not been shy about crowning the Aggies the best team in the state of Utah and Keeton as the best quarterback. Such labels have long been reserved for BYU.

BYU’s identity isn’t being challenged by the media only. Utah State players and coach aren’t giving the Cougars much respect.
Utah State head coach Gary Andersen didn’t give much credit to the BYU offense for its dominating win over Hawaii. Said Andersen, “They kind of caught some mojo [defined by dictionary.com as “magic”], if you will, on the offensive side of the ball.”

At least one Utah State player is flamboyantly tweeting that the Utah State defense is better than the BYU defense.

The Aggies D has played well this season. Nationally, they rank no. 11 in total defense (280.8 ypg), no. 24 in rush defense (106.4 ypg), no. 15 in passing defense (174.4 ypg), and no. 18 in scoring defense (14.2 ppg). While impressive, the Aggies rank below BYU in all four categories (5, 2, 11, 4, respectively).

The Aggies bravado may come from being a missed field goal at Wisconsin away from being undefeated. They stunned a Utah team that BYU struggled with (and lost to), and they remember that it took a miracle for the Coguars to win head-to-head a year ago.

Utah State lost some talent to the NFL last April, but a year of experience for players like Chuckie Keeton and Kerwynn Williams have made the 2012 Aggies more dangerous than last year. Keeton has completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 1,281 yards with an 11 to 4 touchdown to interception ratio. His pass efficiency rating is 156.4. Williams is averaging 104 rushing yards per game, and is the team’s leading receiver with 262 yards.

This will be the biggest test yet for the stout Cougar D. Bronco’s boys have been impressive shutting down Mike Leach and Christ Petersen’s offenses. That is no small feat in any year. The front seven needs to effectively pressure Keeton when he is passing, and smother any ball carrier trying to get out of the backfield.

For the second straight game, BYU will probably start Taysom Hill at quarterback. The true freshman was named the independent offensive player of the week, but he will need to throw the ball better (12-21, 112 yards) this week for BYU to beat Utah State. There is no doubt that the Aggies will come ready to stop Hill from being an effective runner. Hill and Cody Hoffman were a little out of sync last week. Hopefully, they have been able to smooth things out in practice.

Jamaal Williams exploded last week with the help of a revamped offensive line. BYU will need Williams to take pressure off Hill with effective running.

However, the key to the game for BYU will be the offensive line. Hill cannot be expected to throw the ball well if defenders are in his face every time he drops back to pass. Williams cannot be expected to run well if there are no holes to run through. If the offensive line is playing physical like last week, then the BYU offense should be productive enough to win this game.

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BYU football has been pretty hard to watch in 2017, particularly on offense. After game two, a 27-0 loss to LSU, Head Coach Kalani Sitake said, "I know I am coming down hard on the offense, but, man, let's be honest, that was the issue." The offensive production hasn't gotten much better since, and Sitake hasn't changed his rhetoric.

Who would blame him? BYU is averaging 9.8 points per game, 4.3 yards per play (3.2 yards per rush and 5.2 yards per pass), and 221.75 total yards per game. The Cougar offense has converted just 34 percent of third downs, has averaged 23:47 time of possession, and has a 93.7 pass efficiency rating.

That has some fans speculating that one or more coaches will be fired before the end of the season. That is madness. No one on the BYU coaching staff will be unemployed before the game at Hawaii on November 25.

Making a coaching change midseason is reserved for exceptional cases. Either something happens off the field, or the same problem …

Growing up a fan of BYU football was fun. The foundation had already been laid with the 1984 National Championship, the long list of All-American quarterbacks, and the reputation of being an unstoppable offensive powerhouse. I witnessed Ty Detmer win the Heisman Trophy, Steve Young win Super Bowl MVP honors, and the legendary LaVell Edwards build a team that won the Cotton Bowl and could compete with any team in the country.

It wasn't long ago that Max Hall delivered on his passionate halftime guarantee, "We're going to win," and beat the number 3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The Cougars did it without running back Harvey Unga, who would set the school's career rushing record later that year.

At that time BYU was on the bubble of busting the BCS every year, and with the legacy that Cougar football has, fans were justified in believing their beloved Cougars were still among the top tier in college football.

The 2017 football season is three games old for BYU. The Cougars have already been shutout once, they have not passed for more than 200 yards in a game, and have no real established playmakers. That is a formula for furious fans in Cougar Nation.

Some fans are calling for a coaching change. Others are preaching patience. A third group wants the offensive coaches to run a different scheme.

It is no secret that offensive coordinator Ty Detmer is not trying to run the same scheme he used as a player at BYU to rewrite the NCAA record book. The offense he wants to run resembles what he learned during his 14 seasons in the NFL.

Lackluster results this year has this approach under scrutiny. After all, Tanner Mangum does not look like the same quarterback who passed for 3,377 yards, 23 touchdowns, and had a 136 pass efficiency rating in Robert Anae's offense as a freshman.

In management, whether football or Fortune 500, a train of thought has developed that to show you are a good manager…